DESCRIPTION: (Adapted from applicant's description) The focus of this grant proposal is to study how steroid hormones regulate the organization of DNA and nuclear structure in the prostate, and how the telomerase activity is modulated by androgens. The applicant has reported that nuclear matrix provides the three-dimensional structure of the nucleus and organizes the genome into topologically restrained DNA loops that are anchored at their base to the matrix. Active genes are in close proximity to the matrix and are bound to tissue-specific matrix protein that also binds to the nuclear androgen receptor facilitating transcription. The periphery of the matrix binds and organizes the telomeres of the chromosome. The applicant proposed a stem-cell model for normal and abnormal growth of the prostate. Study on the stem cell markers and their mechanism of action will provide important insight into the cell renewal balance in the prostate.